This is my era, and Loose Tubes were at the forefront of the jazz revolution that swept the UK in the mid-eighties. I was just eighteen when the Tubes made their first dramatic entrance in 1984, with Loose Tubers Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Julian and Steve Argüelles, and Ken Stubbs being regular visitors to my local jazz club with their own respective small groups.Inevitably this made a big impact on my listening at the time, and indeed paved the way to a more catholic approach to the music we loosely describe as jazz with all it's inherent possibilities. From spending the previous three years discovering the giants of the music and starting to follow a parallel course in listening to the current musicians playing in a similar idiom, I was thrust into this melting pot of styles and influences that the young generation of musicians were bringing to the table.It is somewhat typical of Loose Tubes that the third and final release of live recording from Ronnie Scotts from the bands final year of their original lifespan should be called Arriving, as I recall from hearing them live in the eighties that they would often start a concert with 'The Last Word' and conclude with 'Arriving', but perhaps this now signifies the arrival of a new lease of life for the band as heard in the three new pieces featured here.From the outset of this remarkable recording we are instantly reminded of just why the band had such an impact when they burst on the scene more than thirty years ago, with the first few bars recalling the familiar ensemble colours, textures and rhythmic thrust that powered along a 21-piece orchestra. With Iain Ballamy's soprano and Julian Nicholas' tenor we are presented with fine solos that do not just emerge out of the compositions but are integral to them. This is equally true of true of trumpeter, Chris Batchelor's contribution to Harborne's superb composition 'A'.Django Bates' composition 'Eden Express' was the opening number on the bands debut album, and for many the first time that the signature sound, that of total surprise, would be heard. Reprised here live at Ronnie's it is amazing how fresh the piece still sounds with the composer's instinctive and intuitive orchestrations encompassing electronic and acoustic instruments in a truly unique blend of sound. Fast forward twenty four years and this trait is once again apparent in the new compositions penned by Bates, Eddie Parker and Chris Batchelor. The sound has moved on, but is again instantly recognisable...Loose Tubes could not be mistaken for anybody else. The three composer's seem to slot straight back into writing for the large ensemble, and the individual personnel, so much so that a careful listen to Django's 'As I Was Saying' reveals snippets of previous tunes cleverly woven into a new tapestry.If the early tracks on Arriving finally bring to a close the original lifespan of Loose Tubes from 1984 to 1990, then the new material promises much for the future, and here's hoping that these are just the forerunners for a studio of album of new original material from this wonderful aggregation.Reviewed by Nick Lea

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